SERMON: THE APATHY OF THE RELIGIOUS

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

 

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

 

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 

            -- Chuck Graham, the president of Ciloa Ministries, tells the story about a young husband and father who lay in bed several years ago, very sick with pancreatitis -- he was so weak that he could barely talk, and it looked likely that he would die soon -- but many people began to pray and God healed this young man and he was finally able to leave the hospital and go home, but he was still too weak to return to work

            -- that's when Chuck got a call from Johnny Vaughn, a friend of his -- Johnny knew about the situation this man and his family were going through, and he couldn't sit by and do nothing -- Christmas was coming and Johnny wanted to make sure the family would have a great meal -- "They have enough other things to worry about," he said. -- So he came by, picked Chuck up, and they went to buy a Honey Baked Ham -- which they delivered to a surprised and grateful home

            -- When he wrote about this story, Chuck admitted that his first reaction to Johnny's call was of shame -- Chuck had gotten so caught up in the hectic time of Christmas...the parties, gifts for family and friends, special music and celebration services...that he'd forgotten about the reason for the season and the most important thing of all -- Jesus Himself and His call to love one another

-- he remembered the angels, the shepherds and the wise men, but he forgot why Jesus came in the first place -- Chuck confessed, "I remembered what was said about Him, but I forgot what He told us to do." -- he forgot to love those in need at Christmas [Source: Chuck Graham, Ciloa Ministries, www.ciloa.org]

 

            -- in this story, Chuck Graham reminds us that Christmas is about more than just a baby in a manger -- it's about a Savior who came to show us how to live in relationship with the Father and who came to die for our sins on the cross of Calvary -- the true message of Christmas is about a Savior that came to call us to be His hands and feet in this world -- to be people who proclaim His name through our deeds and actions -- our words and love to others

            -- but it's easy to forget that, isn't it? -- it's easy during this busy season to do just what Chuck did -- to get so busy preparing for Christmas and to get so busy celebrating the coming of Christ with family and friends that we forget to do what Jesus told us to do in the first place

            -- if we're not careful, we can become apathetic and indifferent to the very people that Jesus called us to minister to -- and, if we're not careful, we can become apathetic and indifferent to Jesus Himself -- even during the season that we celebrate His coming to earth

 

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our series on the forgotten people of Christmas -- those people who had a part to play in the Christmas story but who are often overlooked or left unmentioned

            -- so, as we begin our study here in Matthew 2, let's look more closely at the people that we generally don't think about when we study the story of the Magi -- namely, the chief priests and the teachers of the law

 

II.  Scripture Lesson -- Matthew 2

            -- this passage in Matthew 2 is one of the familiar stories of the Christmas season -- it tells us of the coming of the Magi -- traditionally, wise men -- who came from the East to worship the new-born Messiah

            -- our tradition tells us that there were three of them -- although the text is silent on the actual number -- and we know that they came from the area around Persia -- which is modern-day Iran -- but it doesn't tell us much more

            -- Scripture does tell us that they traveled many days and nights, following the star of Christmas, until they arrived in Jerusalem -- the capitol of Israel -- and since they were seeking a king, Matthew tells us that their first stop was the palace of King Herod

            -- there they obtained an audience with the king to find out where the Messiah was to be born -- look back at verse 1-3

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 

            -- when Herod heard of the reason why they had come, the Scriptures tell us that he and all of Jerusalem were disturbed -- a better translation would be that they were troubled -- they were stirred up -- the message caused a commotion in Jerusalem -- and this is understandable

            -- from the very beginning of the nation of Israel -- from the very moment that God called Abram and sent him from Ur to the Promised Land -- the people of Israel had been looking for the Messiah -- they had been longing for the Christ -- for the Savior who would come and redeem the people of Israel and establish a kingdom that would never fail

            -- all of their worship -- all of their religious practices -- from the sacrifices to the prayers to the keeping of the genealogies of the people -- all of these were done in anticipation of the coming of Christ - everyone longed for that day

            -- and, so, when the Magi come announcing that the Christ had been born and wanting to know where He was, you can understand why Matthew says that Jerusalem was disturbed and troubled

            -- Herod especially was concerned because the Messiah was the rightful king of Israel -- and if the Magi's assertion was true and the Messiah had been born -- then Herod's hold on the throne was tenuous at best

            -- he needed more information, so he called in the religious leaders of his day to get their advice -- verse 4-8

Matthew 2:4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

 

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

 

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

            -- so, the religious leaders came -- the chief priests of the order of the Sadducees

-- the Jewish sect that was in charge of the temple worship at this time -- and the teachers of the law -- the scholars -- the experts in all things religious -- think of them as the preaches and administrators and teachers of the church

            -- they hear the story of the Magi and their quest for the newborn king of the Jews -- and then, when Herod asks them where the Messiah is to be born -- they answer him immediately, citing Micah 5:2, and tell Herod that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, a little village just outside of Jerusalem

            -- now that Herod knows where the Messiah is supposed to be, he sends the Magi on to Bethlehem to find the Messiah and report back to him -- supposedly, so that he can visit the newborn king and worship Him, too -- but, as we know, in reality, Herod is trying to locate the Messiah so he can kill Him before He becomes old enough to threaten Herod's throne

 

            -- that's the story that we hear at Christmas every year -- the coming of the Magi and Herod's attempts to kill the baby Jesus -- but when you look at it in more detail, this passage becomes an interesting study in contrasts

            -- as you noticed, there are three groups of characters in this story:

 

            -- first, of course, there are the Magi -- the wise men from Persia -- who have come to find the baby Jesus -- they are the true believers -- even though they haven't seen Jesus yet, they are excited because He has come -- they know who He is -- they are looking for Him -- because they want to experience His presence in their own lives

            -- the Magi represent us because this is who we are called to be -- faithful followers of Jesus who are excited about Him -- who long for His presence -- who go to the ends of the earth to be with Him and to proclaim His good news to everyone we meet

 

            -- next, we see Herod, who is more interested in his position and power than in the salvation that is promised through the Messiah -- all he cares about are things and possessions and being in charge of Israel -- and so, when he hears that the Messiah -- the true king of Israel has been born -- he immediately takes steps to eliminate the threat

            -- there's a lot of people in our world today who are like Herod -- who have little time for religion or the trappings of Christianity -- they may show up at church at Christmas and Easter -- but their interest is not in the spiritual but in the world and what the world offers -- and they don't like it when the two come together

 

            -- but, by far, the most interesting response to me is that of the religious leaders -- the people that we never mention in our Christmas dramas and plays or sing about in our hymns

            -- did you notice the response of the religious leaders to the announcement that the Messiah had come? -- once they heard that the Messiah had been born, you would have expected them to be like the Magi -- to be excited -- to rejoice and to run off to find the Savior that they had been waiting for for over 4000 years -- but, yet, their response can only be characterized as "marked indifference" [source: Suresh Manoharan -- www.jandsmministries.com]

            -- they knew who the Messiah was -- they knew what His coming foretold -- they even knew where Jesus was supposed to arrive -- after all, they were the keepers of the promise -- but look at how they reacted -- they could care less -- they couldn't be bothered -- they were too busy doing religion and being religious to stop and search for the Promised Messiah

            -- what do you think they did after they heard the Magi's story? -- did they just go home? -- did they just get ready for church?

-- we don't know -- the Bible doesn’t tell us -- but we do know what they didn't do -- they didn't follow the Magi and go look for Jesus on their own

 

            -- this response by the religious leaders -- by those who should have been the first to go and find their Lord and Savior -- was a sin of omission

 

            -- there are two types of sins in the Bible -- sins of commission and sins of omission -- sins of commission are easy to identify -- this means that you did something you shouldn't -- you broke the law -- you broke the 10 commandments -- you lied -- you stole -- you cheated -- you coveted -- you lusted -- you did something -- you disobeyed God -- you committed a sin

            -- sins of omission are different -- it's not what you do -- it's what you don't do -- a sin of omission is failing to do something that God wants you to do  -- James 4:17 defines a sin of omission this way: "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

            -- and what is the good that we ought to do? -- Micah tells us just that in Micah 6:8 -- "[God] has showed you, O man, what is good -- And what does the LORD require of you? -- To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. "

 

            -- a sin of omission, then, is knowing what is good and not doing it -- for instance, anytime you see injustice and refuse to act, you are committing a sin of omission -- anytime you see someone in need and refuse to act, you are committing a sin of omission -- anytime you know you should do something and don't -- whether it's a physical act like giving someone a hand -- giving them money -- giving them clothes or food or a place to stay -- or whether it's a spiritual act -- like praying for them -- witnessing to them -- forgiving them -- these are all sins of omission

            -- that is exactly what the chief priests and teachers of the law were guilty of in this passage -- on that first Christmas, when they received word that the Messiah had come -- that their Lord and King had been born -- they should have gone with the Magi to the manger -- but, instead, they did nothing -- and in doing nothing, they sinned

           

            -- if you read through the New Testament, you'll find that some of Jesus' harshest criticisms were levied against those who were like the chief priests and teachers of the law -- religious on the surface but who sin by not doing what is right and good

            -- think about the parable of the Good Samaritan that Jesus told about a man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho and who got mugged and beaten and left for dead beside the road -- a priest came by and saw the man, but did nothing -- then a Levite, the people who were responsible for taking care of the temple and assisting with worship, came by and saw the man but did nothing -- finally, a Samaritan came by and saw the man and tended to his wounds and took him to a place of safety

            -- When Jesus finished His parable, He pointed out that of the three men who passed by the hurt stranger, only the Samaritan -- the one who had mercy on him -- had done what God had intended and was a true neighbor to the man

            -- the other two -- the priest and the Levite -- had sinned because they had known what was required and chose to do nothing

 

            -- where are you in the story of the Magi? -- are you the Magi? -- the believers who are excited at the news that the Messiah has come? -- the people who go forth and spread the word of Jesus -- who tell others the good news of salvation and the forgiveness of sins -- are you the person who sees what is good and does it -- who acts justly and loves mercy and walks humbly with your God as you minister to those in need around you?

            -- or are you like the chief priests and the teachers of the law? -- have you been so overwhelmed with Christmas -- with decorating and buying presents and getting ready to celebrate with your family and friends that you haven't had time for Jesus? -- you haven't had time for His people? -- you haven't had time to help someone else this season?

            -- what has been your response? -- who are you most like this year?

 

III.  CLOSING

            -- John 1:1 in the Bible paraphrase, "The Message," reads like this: "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood"

            -- in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus was asking us to the same -- He was inviting us to move into the neighborhood -- not simply to pass through in a whirlwind of busyness -- but to be involved in the lives of His people -- to see their hurts and their needs -- to see their spiritual doubts and confusions -- and to be their neighbor by ministering to them and proclaiming the word of God through our actions and our words and our love

            -- in this passage that we looked at this morning, only the Magi moved into the neighborhood -- only the Magi did what God wanted them to do -- Herod was hostile -- the chief priests and the teachers of the law were indifferent

            -- Herod sinned by doing wrong and seeking to kill the baby Jesus -- the chief priests and the teachers of the law sinned by not doing what God wanted them to do

           

            -- several years ago, a friend of ours was at a gas station here in town -- she only had $2 to her name -- it was all she had for the rest of the week -- but she needed gas -- so she turned the pump on and put $2 worth of gas in her car and went inside and paid  

            -- when she came out, a young man was there at the pump next to her and he got her attention -- he told her to go ahead and fill up her car and that he would take care of the bill -- she argued with him and told him he didn't have to do that -- but he told her he did -- she said, "What's got into you?" -- and he replied, "Jesus" and invited her to church

            -- no one would have faulted him for going on his way -- he would not have broken any of God's laws or any of God's commandments by just minding his own business and driving off after he was done filling his own car up -- after all, it's been a tough time economically over the last few years -- it's always a busy season at Christmas -- and it turns out this good Samaritan was a youth pastor at a local church -- so you know he was really busy during the Christmas season and probably didn’t have a lot of money himself with the salary youth pastors get paid -- he could have just gotten into his car and driven off and no one would have thought less of him -- there were other people at the gas station that day, and that's what they did

            -- but this young man chose to do something different -- he chose to be a neighbor -- he chose to get involved

-- he knew what was right -- he knew what God wanted him to do -- and he did it -- and that made all the difference in this girl's life

 

            -- what do you think the chief priests and the teachers of the law would have done in this situation? -- more importantly, what would you have done?

            -- as we continue to celebrate the coming of Jesus this year, let's not just remember the baby in the manger -- the Savior of the world -- but let's remember why He came -- let’s remember what He told us to do and how He showed us to live and let's go forth and proclaim His name through our deeds and our actions and our words

            -- Let's pray

SERMON: THE HIDDEN CONNECTION

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 1:26-38

 

Luke 1:26  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

 

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

 

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

 

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

 

            -- several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit an old growth forest in the Pacific Northwest -- now, we’ve all been in forests before, but when you enter a grove of old growth trees, it’s entirely different from anything you’ve known before -- it feels like you have entered a cathedral -- and your eyes are naturally drawn upwards towards the canopy -- which may be hundreds of feet above you

            -- you are dwarfed by the size of the trees -- the immensity of their trunks and their dizzying heights -- and it seems like everything within those forests are all connected -- they all belong there -- they are all one with each other -- the birds -- the animals -- the ferns growing in the dampness and shade under the trees -- it is a very unique experience that you can’t have anywhere else

            -- but while we were standing there in awe and in wonder -- looking up and just taking in the scenery -- our guide explained that we weren’t seeing all that was there -- that there was something else present there that was the most important member of all and that was hidden beneath our feet

            -- he explained that there was a vast fungal network that existed below the ground that connects the whole forest together in a mysterious way that science is just now beginning to understand

            -- apparently, this fungal or mycorrhizal network weaves in and out of the roots of all the plants in the forest, and transfers water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals to the trees -- the guide said that without this mycorrhizal network hidden within this delicate ecosystem, this forest would cease to exist -- that even though it had been forgotten by science, this underground fungal network was integral to the very life of the forest

 

            -- last week, we started the Season of Advent with a sermon series focused on the forgotten people of Christmas -- I pointed out that in our Christmas stories we tend to focus on the major characters in the Christmas story -- Jesus and Joseph and Mary -- the three wise men -- and sometimes even the shepherds

            -- but there were many other people and spiritual beings who were part of that first Christmas -- people we tend to overlook, but whose parts and roles in the story of the first Advent were no less important than the others and whose participation and presence in the Christmas story still has meaning for us today even though their presence may have been hidden in the annals of history and forgotten by Christians to this day

 

-- last week, we looked at the first of the Christmas forgotten and spent some time discussing angels -- who they really were -- why God had created them -- and why God sent them to earth on that first Christmas Day

            -- this morning, we are going to look at another one of the overlooked characters in the Christmas story -- the Holy Spirit

 

            -- as I was preparing for this series of messages, it occurred to me how we tend to gloss over the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our churches -- I've mentioned this before, but I've noticed that nothing seems to confuse people more than the thought of the Holy Spirit -- who He is -- and what He does -- and how He works in our lives today

            -- even though we recognize the Trinity, in all reality, we tend to only focus on two of the three persons of the Godhead -- we pray every Sunday to the Father in the name of Jesus -- and we focus our sermons and our lessons around the actions of God the Father and Jesus in the Old Testament and the New Testament, respectively

-- but it is not common for us to speak to or of the Holy Spirit -- He gets mentioned at Pentecost each year, when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples at that time -- and we talk about the Holy Spirit’s presence at the baptism of Jesus -- but other than that, we don’t spend a lot of time focusing on the Spirit -- as Francis Chan wrote, “The Holy Spirit is the forgotten God”

-- and when we do refer to the Spirit in our sermons or our prayers, we usually address Him in the third person -- we rarely speak to Him directly or pray to Him directly -- for instance, we might pray to the Father to send His Spirit to us today -- to fill us with His Spirit -- but rarely is it that we pray to the Spirit Himself and ask for His presence or His power in our lives -- our focus is always on the Father or on Jesus

            -- why is that? -- why don't we pray to Him? -- why don't we recognize Him more in our churches and in our lives?

            -- we know who the Holy Spirit is -- He is the third person of the Trinity -- He is and was and has always been God -- even before there was time, He was the great "I Am" -- even before the creation of the earth, He was part of the Godhead with the Father and the Son

            -- The Holy Spirit is, in a very real sense, Emmanuel -- "God with us" -- because the Bible tells us that He indwells and lives within believers -- that our bodies are His temple, and He resides within us -- God with us all the time

            -- so, if the Holy Spirit is fully and completely God -- just like the Father and the Son are fully and completely God -- then why don't we pray to Him like we do them? -- why don't we focus on Him like we do them? -- why don't we rely on His presence in our lives like we do them?

            -- here we are at Christmas -- that special time of the year when we are celebrating the first advent of Christ -- the story of God's miraculous grace in sending Jesus to earth for us -- and what do we tell our kids -- what do we tell the world -- about Christmas?

            -- we basically summarize John 3:16 and the story of Christ from the gospels and we tell them that God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to come to earth -- to be born to a virgin named Mary in the town of Bethlehem on Christmas Day -- so that He might live a sinless life in our place and so that He might die on the cross and receive the punishment we were due and so that we might receive eternal life through Him

            -- isn't that the story of Christmas? -- isn't that the story of Jesus? -- isn't that what we portray in our hymns and our plays and our nativity dramas? -- and what is missing? -- the Holy Spirit -- He's not there -- we haven't included Him

            -- but the Bible tells us that He was there -- that the Holy Spirit was an integral part of the first advent -- that it was the presence of the Holy Spirit who quickened the life of Jesus within Mary -- that it was the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus to go forth and begin His ministry -- and that it was the Holy Spirit who was there to comfort and empower the disciples who were left after Jesus ascended back into Heaven

            -- so, this morning, I want us to spend a few moments thinking about the Holy Spirit and His role at Christmas -- remembering how His presence changed the history of this world -- how it changed time -- and how it continues to change and transform lives today

 

II.  Scripture Lesson -- Luke 1:26-38

            -- if you would, look back with me at this passage in Luke 1 -- just to remind you of the context, Luke is beginning the story of Jesus -- who Jesus was and why He came in the first place -- and just like all good stories, Luke starts in the beginning -- telling us how this God-man Jesus came to earth in the first place

            -- so far in Chapter 1, Luke has connected the coming of Christ with the prophecies of the Old Testament -- telling us that God was sending a final prophet to earth before the coming of the Messiah -- John the Baptist -- who would pave the way for Jesus and prepare the world for His coming

            -- by the time we get to verse 26, Gabriel has already visited Zechariah, John's father, and told him to expect a child to be born in his old age -- and we read that Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife -- Mary's cousin -- is six months pregnant with John the Baptist

            -- the time is right for the Messiah to come -- for the Savior to enter the world

            -- so, look back at verse 26 and let's catch up with Luke's story  

 

Luke 1:26  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

 

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 

 

-- this is part of the story that we are very familiar with -- Gabriel has come to earth again and this time he appears to Mary -- passing on to her the good news that God has chosen her to bear the Messiah -- the Son of the Most High -- she is to name Him, "Jesus" -- "Yeshua" -- meaning "God saves" --  for He has been sent into the world to save the people from their sins

            -- verse 34

 

Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

 

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

 

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

 

 

-- now this is what I wanted you to see -- Mary accepts the word of God given through Gabriel -- she believes it will happen just as he said -- her only question is, "How?" -- "I'm not married -- I've never been with a man -- how will this come to pass?"

            -- and Gabriel gives her the answer that is the focus of our discussion today -- in verse 35 Gabriel tells her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

            -- let's unpack that verse and look at it in a little more detail

 

            -- first, and foremost, I wanted to call your attention to the presence of the Holy Spirit in this passage -- although we never mention Him in our Christmas plays or in our Christmas hymns, He was the divine spark that brought about the first advent -- the first coming of Jesus to our world

            -- I hope you noticed the description of the Trinity in this passage -- these verses mention God the Father -- Jesus -- and the Holy Spirit

            -- although the writers of the Bible were still struggling with the concept of the Trinity -- of One God in three persons -- you can see the beginnings of the Doctrine of the Trinity in passages just like this

            -- this passage reminds us of the relationship between the three persons of the Godhead -- they are one -- and where one is, all are -- with the exception of that one moment on the cross when Jesus bore the punishment for our sins, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have never been separated -- they have always been together -- working together -- to fulfill their purposes and their plans for us and for this world

            -- we will never truly understand the Trinity -- how they can exist as separate persons but be one God -- it's something we have to accept on faith -- knowing that God has chosen to exist and to function in this way -- and knowing that, although each person of the Godhead relates to us in a different way, they are all still fully and completely God

            -- in this case, we see the three persons of the Trinity coming together for the sole purpose of reconciling man to God through the person of Jesus Christ

 

            -- secondly, Gabriel tells Mary here that the Holy Spirit will come upon her -- there's an important distinction here that we need to recognize -- the Bible tells us that we are all sinners -- that we have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God -- the Bible also tells us that God cannot abide with sin -- He cannot live with sin -- He cannot look on sin

            -- and, so, before the cross of Calvary -- before Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins -- reconciling us with God -- God could not indwell us in the presence of the Holy Spirit -- instead, the Bible tells us that from Genesis 1 until the cross of Calvary that the Holy Spirit would come upon believers -- He would rest upon believers -- His power would fill them, but His presence did not indwell them

            -- we see that here -- contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, Mary was just like us -- she was a sinner and the curse of original sin was upon her, just like us -- she was a sinful being simply because she was a person -- an heir of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden -- and so when the Holy Spirit came at Christmas, He did not indwell her -- instead, He came upon her -- He allowed His presence to overshadow her so that He might fulfill His purposes through her

 

            -- third, Gabriel tells Mary that after the Holy Spirit comes upon her, that His power will overshadow her -- there's a spiritual truth there that we need to understand -- when God comes into our lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit, His power comes with Him -- it is God's power -- working in us and through us -- that enables us to fulfill the purposes and plans of God for our lives and for the lives of others

            -- the thing about the power of the Holy Spirit, though, is that we can stop it from working in our lives -- although as Christians we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the Bible tells us that we can grieve Him -- we can quench His power in our lives

            -- a good analogy is the water in our homes -- the power of the Holy Spirit is like that water -- it is contained there within pipes inside our house -- but we have to allow it to flow -- we have to open the faucet and let it out -- we can either open the faucet wide open and let it just pour out -- or we can just barely open the faucet and let it just drip

            -- in the same way, we have a choice to make with the power of the Holy Spirit -- we can let Him pour out His power through us and our lives -- or we can restrict His flow -- and not experience His transforming power as God intended

            -- in his book, "Flying Closer to the Flame," Chuck Swindoll has a great illustration about our ability to quench the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives

            -- he writes that "in 1983, John Sculley quit his job at Pepsico to become the president of Apple Computer -- He took a big risk leaving his prestigious position with a well-established firm to join ranks with an unproven little outfit that offered no guarantees -- only the excitement of one man's transforming vision

            -- “Scully says he made the risky move after Apple cofounder Steve Jobs goaded him with the question, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?""

            -- the Holy Spirit offers us His power as He indwells our lives and lives in our bodies -- it's our choice whether we use that power to change the world or quench it and accomplish next to nothing

 

            -- lastly, Gabriel tells Mary that the power of the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and that she would carry holiness within her womb -- that she would bear the holy son of the Lord Most High

            -- this verse reminds us that the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested in our lives in various ways -- it is expressed through our spiritual gifts -- which are nothing more than the actual presence and power of God working through us

            -- it is expressed when God gives us the words to speak to another person -- when we don't know what to say, but we end up saying just the right thing to comfort another person -- to lead them to the Father

            -- it is expressed when we remember the teachings of Jesus -- when the Holy Spirit calls to our hearts and minds the words that Jesus gave us -- and helps us to apply them to our lives and our situations where we need to know what to do

            -- it is expressed when we try to communicate with God -- even when we don't know what to say, the Holy Spirit speaks on our behalf

            -- it is expressed when God gives us strength and power to do that which we could not do on our own

            -- we call this expansive, overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives to make us holy as He is holy, "Sanctification" -- it is a grace of God -- it is God giving us what we don't deserve -- making us into people that we couldn't be apart from Him

            -- in other words, the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives makes us holy -- it sets us apart -- it separates us from the world for God -- making us become more and more like Him every day

            -- the presence of the Holy Spirit always results in transformed lives -- it always results in holiness

            -- isn't that the true message of Christmas? -- that through the power of the Holy Spirit, a virgin's life was transformed and she bore the Son of God -- that through the power of the Holy Spirit, the world was transformed as the Son of God came to claim His own -- that through the power of the Holy Spirit, the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes had come to conquer sin and death and win eternal life for all

 

            -- this Christmas, as we light our advent candles -- as we sing our Christmas hymns and decorate our homes -- as we gather around our trees to exchange presents and celebrate the birth of Jesus -- let's not forget to recognize and praise the Holy Spirit -- the One who indwells us and empowers us -- the One who fills us with His presence -- the One who transforms our lives and the lives of others through us -- the One who made possible the coming of Christ at Christmas

 

            -- in the Emmaus movement, one of our traditions is to pray together a prayer to the Holy Spirit -- to recognize His presence in our lives as part of the Holy Trinity -- and to call on Him to move in our lives and make us into the people that God has called us to be

 

            -- so, as we close, allow me to lead us in this prayer to the Holy Spirit, as we worship Him this Advent Season

 

            -- let us pray

 

            -- Come, Holy Spirit -- Fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love --  Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created -- and You shall renew the face of the earth -- O God who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations -- through Christ our Lord -- Amen (Prayer to the Holy Spirit, Emmaus Handbook, Page 48)

 

SERMON: ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 2:1-20

 

Luke 1:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

 

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

 

            -- this morning marks the start of the Season of Advent in the Christian Church -- this is the beginning of the church year for most of the churches in the western world, starting on the fourth Sunday before Christmas -- the Season of Advent gets its name from the Latin word "adventus," which means "coming" or "arrival" -- it is a period of waiting and anticipation for the coming of Christ

            -- the first Advent occurred over 2000 years ago when Jesus was born in a manger on Christmas morning -- and just like the Jewish people had waited thousands of years for the coming of the Messiah -- we are waiting and anticipating the second Advent of Christ -- the second coming of Christ to this world at the end of the age

            -- therefore, the Season of Advent focuses on celebrating the coming of Christ at Christmas and looking forward to Christ's return

 

            -- this year, as we begin to turn our hearts and minds towards the celebration of Christmas, I thought we might take some time and look at some of the people and places in the Christmas story that we don’t always talk about -- usually, our focus is on Mary and Joseph and the baby -- but there are many more who were involved in the story of Christ’s first advent -- starting with the angels, who appeared to the shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem on that first Christmas night

 

            -- the Bible is filled with story after story about angels and their interaction with God's people -- all the way from the Book of Genesis through the Book of Revelation -- and we have talked about angels in our Bible studies, especially the study of Revelation, but the majority of people still don't understand who angels are or what they do

            -- and because of that, we tend to get our beliefs about angels from the culture -- from the pictures and images that we see at Christmas in our churches and in our nativity sets -- and from movies and songs such as "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart and the hymns that we sing in church

            -- someone once asked some children what they knew about angels, and their responses were both entertaining and enlightening

            -- Gregory, age 5, commented, “I only know the names of two angels: Hark and Harold”

            -- Molly, age 8, said that she hears angels all the time in her dreams and, “I’m sticking with that no matter how many people tell me I’m crazy”

            -- Olive, age 9, commenting on pictures of angels the interviewer showed her said, “Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it”

            -- Henry, age 8, had direct experiences with angels -- he said, “My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for science.”

            -- Jared, age 8, explained that angels live in cloud houses made by God and His Son, who is a very good carpenter

            -- and finally, Sarah, age 7, had this question -- “What I don’t get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them”

 

            -- and while these are humorous little comments from kids about angels, they’re not far off the mark when it comes to the general public’s understanding of what angels are and what they do -- the reason why they were created by God in the first place

            -- so, as we begin this Advent Season together, I want us to look at what the Bible tells us about angels so we can answer the three main questions about them:

            -- first, where do angels come from? -- how are they made?

            -- second, what do angels do? -- what is their purpose?

            -- and, third, are there different kinds of angels, and if so, what are they?

 

II.  Where do angels come from?

            -- so, where do angels come from?

            -- I mentioned a moment ago the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" -- I’m assuming that everyone in here has seen that movie at some point and is familiar with the story of George Bailey as played by Jimmy Stewart -- it is a Christmas classic and always a good movie to watch this time of the year

            -- do you remember the character Clarence Oddbody from that movie? -- Clarence Oddbody, Angel, Second Class

            -- remember what Clarence told George Bailey about becoming an angel? -- he said that an angel is person who has died and has to earn their wings -- that's why he was sent to earth -- Joseph, the head angel, sends Clarence to earth to help George out so that Clarence might earn his wings -- at one point in the movie, a bell rings and Clarence remarks, "every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings"

            -- this movie is responsible for a lot of our beliefs about where angels come from -- we see the same thing in other movies and hear it in our songs

            -- in Kenny Chesney’s song, "Everybody wants to go to heaven," the chorus says, "Everybody wants to go to heaven -- Get their wings and fly around -- Everybody want to go to heaven -- But nobody want to go now"

            -- very similar to what Clarence told George in the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" -- and very similar to what most people believe today

            -- you would be surprised at how many people -- even in the church -- believe that angels are made this way -- that angels are people who have died and who have gone to heaven -- and once we get to heaven, we are turned into angels and given our wings and our halo and our harp

 

            -- I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say at funerals -- especially at the funeral of a child -- "God just needed another angel" -- I don't know about you, but that's not an encouraging thought to me

            -- I heard Greg Laurie talk about this one time in a sermon -- he said, "Can you think of anything more horrible to tell a grieving parent than that?" -- think about the image that gives us of God -- God's sitting there in heaven and looks around and says, "You know, we need another angel up here -- somebody send a bus down there and run over Tommy"

            -- everyone here probably already know this, but let me make this clear -- the Bible tells us that angels are not people who died and went to heaven -- angels are not humans -- they never were and they never will be

            -- and when we die in Christ, we will go to heaven to be with Him -- not as angels -- but as humans given a new immortal and imperishable body

 

            -- so, if angels aren't people who have died and been given wings -- then who are they? -- angels are spirits -- created beings who exist in a spiritual dimension that touches, but is separate, from our own existence -- in other words, they are special creations of God who exist in the spiritual realm but who can interact with us here on earth

            -- the Bible's focus is on man -- on man's creation and fall and redemption through Christ Jesus -- so, it doesn’t go into a lot of detail about the other spiritual beings that God created

            -- we won't find a place in there where it specifically says, "God created the angels on such and such a date" -- but we do know from Scripture that God created the angels and that they were already present with God when He created the heavens and the earth in Genesis Chapter 1 and put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

            -- in Colossians 1:16, we read, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."

            -- in Nehemiah 9:6 it says, "You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you."

            -- and in Job 38:4-7, we read that the angels shouted for joy while God laid out the foundations of the earth -- that means that they were already in existence and living with God in the spiritual realm before He created the heavens and the earth

            -- we don't know how many angels God created -- in Matthew 26, when Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He told Peter to put up his sword -- Jesus said that if He needed rescue, He could call on 12 legions of angels -- a legion was around 6,000 people -- so 12 legions would have been 72,000 angels

            -- other places in Scripture, such as Hebrews 12:22 and Revelation 5:11, refer to thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand angels existing in the spiritual realm

 

II.  Different Kinds of Angels

            -- so, angels are spirit beings who were created before the beginning of the earth -- the term, “angel,” is a generalized term that applies to all the spiritual beings that God created -- and, contrary to what most people believes, there are many different kinds of angels that we have learned about through Scripture and through our interaction with them

            -- in the Bible, we read of five different types of angels, but when we get to heaven, we may find out that there are more than that -- these may only be the ones that God created to interact with us -- so, don’t take this as an all-encompassing look at angels

           

            1.  The first type of angels that we know of are simply called, “angels” -- but you’ll recognize them based on the context of the scriptural passage you are reading

            -- angels are the messengers of God -- they are God's spiritual workforce -- angels are the most common type of created spiritual being -- Gabriel is this type of angel -- in fact, he is the only angel of this type that we know by name from the Bible

            -- if you were to ask someone to describe what an angel looks like, what would be the one characteristic they would mention -- wings, right? -- well, despite our nativity sets and pictures in our books and Bibles, this type of angel is never portrayed in the Bible or mentioned as having wings

            -- look back at the passage here in Luke -- Luke tells us that the angels just appeared in the sky -- nowhere does he say they have wings -- in fact, you're not going to find anywhere in Scripture that tells you that angels have wings

            -- when the angels appeared to Mary and the other women in the empty tomb on Easter morning, they are described as “men in clothes that gleamed like lightning” -- the same thing in the Book of Acts -- after Jesus ascended into heaven and the disciples were standing there staring up into the sky, “two men dressed in white” stood beside them

            -- these are all instances of angels appearing to humans, and they are never described as having wings

            -- I think we probably interact with angels in human form more often that we realize -- as it says in Hebrews 13:2, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” -- or, as we hear it more commonly, we may have entertained angels unaware -- not angels in their underwear, as some kids have heard it

            -- so, the most common form of angels are the messengers of God, who appear to us as men in shining clothes and who never have wings

 

            2. The second type of angel that we read about in the Bible are the cherubs or cherubim -- contrary to what we see on Valentine's Day, cherubs aren't chubby little babies with wings who fly around with bows and arrows and shoot people with arrows to make them fall in love with each other -- cherubs are a special type of angels

            -- they are four-sided angels with a face on each side of their body -- lion, man, eagle, and "cherub" faces -- they are mentioned 90 times in the Old Testament -- after Adam and Eve were forced out of the garden of Eden, God placed cherubs in the garden to guard the tree of life

            -- in Ezekiel Chapters 1 and 10, the prophet Ezekiel tells us that he saw cherubim under God's throne -- according to these accounts, cherubim have human-like hands but feet like hooves and whirling, fiery wheels covered in eyes went with them when they moved

            -- here's something that you might not have known -- in Ezekiel Chapter 28, we read of the fall of Satan -- listen to Ezekiel 28:14-16 -- "You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. -- You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. -- You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. -- Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. -- So, I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones."

            -- Satan was created as a cherub -- does that change your image of him? -- how about your image of cherubs in general?

 

            3.  The third type of angels are seraphs or seraphim -- these are the ones that we looked at when we studied the Book of Revelation, and the only other place we see them described for us in the Book of Isaiah

            -- as Kim has said, seraphim are kind of scary -- they are so different from anything that we know and understand -- seraphim are six-winged angels covered with eyes and with a single face -- they are described as having either the face of a lion, a calf, a man, or an eagle

            -- the references to them in Scripture are always associated with the throne of God, and it seems like they serve God by protecting the throne and leading the worship of God by crying out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty -- Who was and is and is to come”

           

            4. The fourth type of angel that we know about is the Archangel -- the word "Archangel" literally means "angel-ruler."  -- the Archangel is apparently the ruler of the angels -- according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, there is only one archangel because it says that Jesus will return “with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God” -- the text says “the” archangel, implying there is only one

            -- we assume from Scripture that the archangel is Michael, because in Revelation 12, we read that Michael is the leader of God's angel army -- in Revelation Chapter 12, we read that Michael and his angels fought against Satan and his angels

            -- Michael is also known as the prince of Israel -- so, it appears that he has been given special responsibility to minister to and protect the Jewish people

 

            5.  The last type of angels that we see in the Bible are the demons -- these are fallen angels -- angels who chose to disobey God and follow Satan in his rebellion -- we know that Satan was a cherub, but we do not know about the other demons -- it is likely that the majority of them were regular angels because these seem to be the most numerous of the angels that God created -- but there may have been other cherubim or even Seraphim that followed Satan and became opposed to God and His rule

 

            -- since we’re talking about angels, let me point out one more thing -- we mentioned this the other day when we were in the Book of Job -- throughout the Old Testament, you will run across the term, “the Angel of the Lord” -- when you see that phrase, keep in mind that this is not an angel, but what we call a theophany -- the preincarnate appearance of Christ

            -- Jesus is not a created being -- He is the second person of the Trinity -- God Himself -- and He has always existed in union with the other members of the Trinity -- the Father -- the Son -- and the Holy Spirit

            -- through Him all things were made, which means that all the angels and all the spiritual beings that were created by God were made through Christ -- He has always existed as God in the heavenly realm

            -- at Christmas, we celebrate the Advent of Christ -- the coming of God in the flesh -- when the second person of the Trinity came to earth in the form of a baby -- fully God and fully human -- but this was not His first appearance on earth

            -- various times in the Old Testament, Christ would appear to people as the Angel of the Lord -- the very presence of God appearing to them in physical form

            -- in John 6:46, Jesus told His disciples that "No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father." -- so, when God appeared in physical form in the Old Testament, He did so as Christ

            -- for instance, in Genesis 18:1, it says that Yahweh appeared to Abraham -- now, since Jesus said no one had seen the Father -- this means that Abraham saw Jesus -- this was a theophany -- a visit by the Angel of the Lord

            -- I know this doesn't have anything to do with angels, but I just wanted to make sure that you understood the phrase, "The Angel of the Lord," in case you ran across it in scripture

 

III.  What do angels do?

            -- so, what is the purpose of angels? -- why did God create them and why does God have so many angels?

            -- look back at verse 8 here in this passage

 

Luke 1:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 

            -- this is the passage that inspired the great Christmas hymns, "Angels We Have Heard on High," and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” -- and it points us to the three main functions of angels

            -- first, they are messengers of God -- the word "angel" actually means "messenger" -- they are servants of God -- sent by Him to speak His purpose and His plans and His message to creation -- in other words, they proclaim the word of God

            -- Luke records here that after Jesus was born, an angel appeared to the shepherds out in the fields near Bethlehem to tell them that the Savior had been born -- the shepherds had no idea that anything extraordinary had happened -- they had no idea that the Messiah had arrived -- so God sent His messengers to earth to tell them what had happened so they could be the first evangelists at Christmas

            -- this is what one of the most famous angels in the Bible is known for -- the angel Gabriel -- Gabriel seems to be God's special messenger -- he first appears in the Old Testament to Daniel on two separate occasions when he comes in answer to Daniel's prayer to explain a vision that God had given Daniel

            -- and we see him twice here in the Christmas narrative in Luke Chapter 1 -- first, he appears to Zechariah in the temple to tell him that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth would have a son called John who would usher in the coming of the Messiah -- then, he appears to Mary and tells her that she has been chosen to bear the Messiah -- that she will be overcome by the presence of the Holy Spirit and will be pregnant with Jesus even though she is a virgin

            -- and, even though he is not mentioned by name, I believe Gabriel was probably the angel who appeared to Joseph in a dream in Matthew chapter 1 to tell him to take Mary home as his wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit

            -- these are just examples to point out the first purpose of the angels, which is to serve as God's messengers

 

            -- secondly, angels are God's worship leaders -- they exist to praise God and to bring glory to Him -- it used to be common for churches to sing the Doxology hymn together on Sunday mornings, although this practice is less common today -- but in the Doxology, we sing the words, “Praise Him above ye heavenly host" -- the heavenly host are the angels of God who gather around the throne and praise Him

            -- just like here in this passage -- after the angel finishes delivering his message to the shepherds, Luke says that a great company of the heavenly host appear with angel -- praising God and singing glory to His name

            -- in Isaiah Chapter 6 and Revelation Chapter 4, we read about the angels who surround the throne of God and call out praises to Him constantly -- John says "day and night" they never stop praising God

            -- the angels lead worship -- they join with us and sing unending hymns of praise to God for what He has done -- as it says in Hebrews 1:6, "Let all God's angels worship Him"

            -- I truly believe that the angels join with us in praise when we come before God and worship Him in our hearts -- years ago, I was in a church service and there was a mother with a toddler in her arms -- it was a special moment -- we were all united and singing praise to God -- and the baby started looking up at the ceiling of the church and pointing around him -- I believe that he saw something that the rest of us didn’t -- I believe he saw angels gathered to worship with us in praise to God

 

            -- finally, the Bible tells us that angels minister to people -- Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation -- what does it mean to minister to someone? -- it means to attend to the wants and needs of others

            -- after Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness, we read that the angels came and ministered to Him -- in the same way, God sends His angels to minister to us -- to attend to our needs and our wants -- primarily our spiritual well-being but also our physical needs and wants

            -- we've all heard of guardian angels -- there's ample evidence in the Bible and in our lives today of angels protecting people from physical harm -- for instance, in the Book of Acts, when Peter was in jail, an angel opened the cell door and led him to freedom

            -- more than likely, you have had angels protect you and minister to you, as well -- you just probably weren't aware of it -- as I mentioned earlier, the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 13:2 that we may have entertained angels unaware -- in other words, we may have crossed paths with angels who were there ministering to us, but we just didn't know it -- maybe they were invisible and hidden from our eyes or maybe they took the form of a person

 

            -- let me share with you a story that happened to a friend of mine

            -- my friend is a pastor -- and early in his ministry, he was struggling -- his church was struggling -- his marriage was struggling -- and because he was bivocational at the time, he was struggling with balancing a secular job and the demands of ministry

            -- he was giving it his all, but it seemed like his all was not enough -- he would preach and teach and nothing would happen -- the church would not grow -- no visitors came -- and the people didn’t respond to the messages God gave him -- he told me that he was considering quitting

            -- but on this particular Sunday, a stranger showed up -- the stranger took a seat near the back of the church and participated in the worship -- there was nothing special about him at all -- nothing to draw anyone’s attention -- but still, he caught my friend’s attention simply because he was someone new

            -- every Sunday, my friend had a moment for people to share praises and prayer requests, just like we do -- and as he asked people to share what God had been doing in their lives, this stranger stood up -- my friend asked him if he had something to share -- and he said he did

            -- he said he knew that my friend was struggling -- that he knew my friend was about to give up -- but that he had been sent -- and he used the word “sent” -- he had been sent to remind him that he was called of God -- that God hadn’t given up on him and that he had a purpose to fulfill in his life and his ministry

            -- he told him to hang in there -- to lean on the Lord -- and to trust in Him -- and he told him that his ministry would blossom and that, in the future, the church would grow and God would use him in a mighty way -- and then he sat down

            -- after the service, my friend went to the back of the church to greet the people as they left -- and he said he couldn’t find the stranger -- he just wasn’t there and never came through the door

            -- the strangest thing, he said, was that they recorded their service on tape -- that tells you how long ago this was -- and every time the stranger had spoken in the service, all the tape recorded was static -- the words of the stranger were not recorded

            -- I have no doubt that this was an angelic visit -- that God sent an angel to my friend to minister to him on that day -- just when he needed it -- and he does the same thing in our lives, too -- maybe not in such dramatic ways, but in just the right way and at the right time when we need it

            -- that's one of the reasons why God created angels -- and this ministering aspect of their presence is still felt today

 

            -- before we close, let me share with you one more thing related to the purpose of angels in our lives today -- something that we don’t fully understand

            -- if you turn over to Ephesians 6:12 or listen as I read this verse, we learn something about the organization of angels on earth -- Ephesians 6:12 -- “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

            -- in this verse, Paul is reminding us that we have spiritual enemies arrayed against us -- the demons -- fallen angels, cherubim, and possibly seraphim -- who come against us as the enemies of God

            -- and he tells us here that they are arrayed against us in some type of organized structure -- you have rulers, authorities, powers, and then the spiritual forces as a whole -- it seems like Satan has organized his demons in some way with ranks and authorities, similar to the way a military organizes its troops

            -- when I read Frank Peretti’s book, “This Present Darkness,” which is a Christian fiction story that uses this demonic organization as part of its plot -- now, do not take Peretti’s book as a source book for angels or demon facts, but it does show, in a fictionalized account, how the demons are structured in ranks of power -- and seeing that written out as a story opened my eyes to what Paul was referring to here in this passage

            -- it appears that the same organizational structure may also be in place with the angels -- we know that Michael, as the Archangel, is the leader of all the angels -- but in addition to that, it appears from scripture that God has arrayed angels with differing levels of authority and has even given some angels the responsibility to oversee geographic areas

            -- Michael Heiser, in his book, “The Unseen Realm,” has picked up on this concept recently and has caused quite a stir in the theological world with his premise that God has set up spiritual councils to accomplish God’s will and spiritual leaders over geographic areas

            -- I don’t agree with a lot of what Heiser teaches in this area, but I do think he is right in this regard -- if you look at Daniel Chapter 10, we read of Daniel being visited by an angel who comes in response to a prayer -- this is probably Garbriel, because the Bible says that he had come to Daniel twice before, but here in Daniel 10, it doesn’t give the angel’s name

            -- the angel says in Daniel 10:13 that he was sent by God as soon as Daniel prayed, but the “prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.  Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”

            -- it is obvious from the text that the king of Persia was not a human -- he was a spiritual being -- probably a demon, that was appointed by Satan to rule the nation of Persia for Satan’s purposes

            -- Michael, who this angel describes as “one of the chief princes” of God, had to come and rescue this angel sent by God to Daniel from the prince of Persia

            -- so, it appears that both angels and demons have been arrayed in some type of structure or organization that includes the authority over geographic areas -- the Bible talks about these geographic areas as being nations or “peoples,” which may be races of people, such as the Jews

            -- there’s not a lot in the Bible about this, but there is enough to give us a glimpse into this organizational structure -- so, it may be that there are guardian angels, not just for people, but for nations or people-groups -- the only appointment of this type that we know of from the Bible is that Michael is the prince of the Jewish people and he is also the leader of the angels in Revelation 12 who fights against Satan and his demons

 

IV.  Closing

            -- as we close today, let me share with you that I'm not a big fan of angel pictures or the images of angels that we see in our popular media -- I think most of them are unbiblical

            -- but there is one picture that I do like a lot -- it is called "Watchers in the Night" by Thomas Blackshear -- even though it shows an angel with wings, it portrays him as a strong protector -- holding a spear in one hand and a light in the other as he keeps watch over a sleeping child -- the spear to protect and guard -- the light to represent God's word and message for the world

            -- this is the image of angels that we see from the Bible -- not Clarence Oddbody from "It's a Wonderful Life" -- and certainly not the feminine angels and chubby-cheeked cherubs that we see in our pictures and movies and read about in our books

            -- if I had to define angels in one word -- if I was looking for a way to sum up this entire teaching on angels -- there are two words that I would consider

            -- first, “Minister” -- for as we just talked about, angels are God’s ministering spirits sent to serve us in our need

            -- but secondly, I would choose the word, "Warrior" based on Psalm 91:11, "For He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways"

            -- angels are God's warriors -- His servants -- who are sent to guard us and protect us and minister to us as they proclaim His message and lead His praise in heaven and on earth

            -- I hope this primer on angels has helped you get a more biblical understanding of who angels are and of what they do as you begin to prepare your homes and your hearts to celebrate Christ this Christmas

            -- let's pray